Descriptive Words Tfwe never used descriptive words (adjectives and adverbs), how boring would our writing and speaking be? Look at the following sentence to see how descriptive words (adjectives) add color and meaning to sentences, adjective noun (subject) adjective | | At the shelter, a scruffy puppy was the child's favorite. Adjectives in this sentence most definitely add color and meaning, You can picture “scruffy.” You can also imagine a child looking through the shelter until she found her favorite, the puppy that really appealed to her. Extra credit: Think back to the discussion of linking verbs, How does the word favorite function as an adjective (descriptive word) in this sentence? The linking verb, was, links puppy to a word that describes it, favorite, In the Know About Adjectives é Adjectives describe nouns (names of people, places, or things) and pronouns (words that stand in for nouns). Here are two examples: adj. noun | A narrow alley separates the two houses, pronoun adj. She is older by only five minutes. 29 Powered by (9 CamScanner1 words j ng Is in senten a i ees, fe usuall Powered by (9 CamScannerrace horse war movie shoe store When you use a noun as an adjective, the adjective always comes before the noun, and it’s most often si ingular. For example, you may buy shoes at more than one store, but the word is never shoes stores. Adjectives Follow Linking Verbs Adjectives follow linking verbs and describe the subject (noun or pronoun) of the sentence. subject pronoun LV adjectives | eel He is cold and forbidding. In this sentence, the adjectives cold and forbidding tell us more about (describe) the pronoun 4e. The verb is links the adjectives to the subject pronoun he. _ Practice 3.1 Check your skill in recognizing adjectives, Some describe nouns. Other adjectives follow linking words and describe the subject, which is also a noun. In the following sentences, identify each adjective and the word it describes. Adjective(s) Word Described ear i 1. My new neighbor owns an old dog. ID) Asegorn 2. The floppy-eared dog is slow and gentle, ee i tae I oe walked outof % arse Al nani : “7 Powered by ‘CamScannerPowered by (9 CamScannerDescriptive Words 33 bright, happy smile powerful, abusive leader The following phrases do not require commas because if you reverse the adjectives, they won't still make sense. red brick house black wool skirt g Practice 3.2 Place commas where they are needed in these sentences. Not all the sentences require commas. 1, Casey is an easygoing lovable dog. 2. Mike and I learned how to use the new app. 3. A heavy bulky box arrived at our front door. 4. Her tall dark handsome date arrived exactly on time. 5. That was a long hard-won race. 6. The gooey caramel candy stuck to my fingers. 7. Ricardo gave me a creative usable suggestion. 8. Four hungry tired children arrived for lunch. 9. A violent loud storm scared the audience. 10. A repeated high-pitched tapping noise annoyed us. Adjectives Used to Express Comparisons Adjectives can be used to express comparisons, In that case, a simple spell- ing change occurs. Notice the addition of either -er or -est to the end of the adjective. My car is new. Your car is newer. Her car is the newest of the three. Powered by (9 CamScannerPowered by (9 CamScannerDescriptive Words 35 5. That pond is the most shallowest of anyinmthisiaréa 6. That fish is the most largest in the pond. 7. Aldo’s story is the longer of any in the class. 8. That is the story of the wisest man. 9. Did you foolishly want to be the most thinnest person in the class? 10. Our new dog is the most tallest of any I've ever seen. Were you confused by sentences 4, 6, 9, and 10? Avoid this common error with comparison of adjectives. These sentences complicate the -er, -est choice by incorrectly adding the word more or the word most to the sentence. The following two sentences are also incorrect: 'Ncorrect: Solomon is the most wisest man | know. incorrect: — Solomon is the more wisest man I know. Simple is correct: correct: Solomon is the wisest man I know. Using Adjectives Correctly All languages have their particular ways of placing words in sentences. In some languages, such as English, adjectives usually appear before the noun. The injured quarterback played only one half of the game. (Injured is the adjective that describes the noun, quarterback) In other languages, such as Spanish, adjectives are most often, but not Bao placed after the noun. Lamepe Eparote est aqui. (The Spanish woman is here.) Powered by (9 CamScannerPowered by (9 CamScannerDescriptive Words 37 adjective noun [ie raeege We saw the winning flim. As you read earlier in this chapter, the rule to put adjectives first changes when adjectives follow linking verbs (LVS). noun LV adjective adjective Co ee The weather is hot and humid. Here the adjectives follow the verb and describe the noun that came before the linking verb. In other words, the words hot and humid describe weather. Adjectives seem to get around a lot! ‘They can appear before a noun (subject), after a noun (subject), or following a linking verb to link the subject and the descriptive word. Try the following exercise in order to sort out all that you've earned. Practice 3.4 Find the subject and verb in each sentence, deciding whether the verb is an action verb (such as hit) or a linking verb (is, was, are, and so forth). Find any adjectives, and indicate the nouns they describe. 1. Simple, tailored clothes are preferred. 2. The sale is storewide. 3. Mario rented a favorite DVD. 4. He loves adventure films. Be a afternoon snack is big! Powered by (9 CamScannerPowered by (9 CamScannerDescriptive Words 39 the adjectives so long, you use the words more and most to express the com. parison. But be careful: As you learned earlier in this chapter, never use more or most plus -er or -est. Z How do you solve the problem of awkward pronunciation? Instead of making INCORRECT: This sewing pattern is difficulter than the one | used last time. INCORRECT: This sewing pattern is more difficulter than the one | used last time. correct: This sewing pattern is more difficult than the one | used last time. Here's a chart of correct comparisons: ADJECTIVE COMPARISON OF TWO COMPARISON OF MORE THAN TWO. pleasant more pleasant most pleasant thoughtful more thoughtful most thoughtful difficult more difficult most difficult interesting more interesting most interesting ‘There are exceptions to this rule of two-syllable adjectives. For example, if a two-syllable adjective ends in -y, drop the y, add an i, and add the -er, or ~est. happy happier happiest easy easier easiest - Practice 3.6 oe Ay Insert one of these adjectives in each sentence. Change the form of the word accord- ing to the meaning of the sentence. More than one adjective may be correct for some sentences. Choose one. profitable heavy difficult ugly appealing Powered by (9 CamScannercomparison, Fo |. Here are som Powered by (9 CamScannerDescriptive Words 4 Some adjectives have no comparative forms because the simplest form expresses the only degree possible. The following words do not have a comparative form: final dead unique vertical wrong Think about it this way: You can't be more or most dead. You are simply dead, Unique means one of a kind, Something can’t be more or most one of a kind. Tt is unique! & Practice 3.7 Choose the correct adjective form in each sentence. 1. Hee! more (comfortable/comfortabler) in these new shoes. 2. After being home sick for two weeks, Jose finally feels (good/better). » . Kurt is considered the (shrewder/shrewdest) player in our chess club. > Kyle's the (better/best) of the two ball players. wo - Your artwork is (Unique/more uniquer); mine is commonplace. 2 . This shell is the most (common/commonest) of all. 7. This week we had the (easyest/easiest) test ever! This is the (worse/worst) cold I’ve ever had. Es 9. This coffeepot makes the (baddestWworst) coffee. 10. Eric is the most (efficientest/efficient) worker of all. Powered by @ camScannerPowered by (9 CamScanner